Saturday night around 9 pm we had just finished photographing a wedding and I was working in the office. I heard some strange sounds coming from the monitor in Nya's room. I asked Gary to go up and check as it sounded like a mix between coughing and choking. Gary went up and within a minute, I could hear that she was getting worse. I went up there and he had her lying on his arm and was trying to clear her airway by hitting her back. It wasn't helping. I can't even tell you the sound except she was struggling and panicky. I asked Gary if I should call 911 as I felt that if it got this bad this quickly, it could get even worse. Gary is usually my `Mr. Calm Pants And Everything Is Always Fine', but he agreed, so I did. I have never considered calling 911 for anything so I think at the moment I just really felt something was wrong. The alternative of me driving a toddler who couldn't breathe properly, in our van, was not something I wanted to do.
The ambulance came 5 minutes later and by then her breathing improved with just rattling. It really sounded to me like something was lodged in there and I was especially concerned because she hadn't even being coughing previous to this. I felt a bit silly because she had calmed down but they assured me it was the right thing to do. They checked her over and thought that based on her current state that I should go with them to the hospital in the ambulance.
They had a carseat buckle for her in the bed and she was strapped in. She hated it. Usually I can keep her calm but with what the last 10 minutes was like for her, the discomfort she was in, and now being strapped into a strange vehicle, she was not happy. `I scared! I scared! I hurt! I hurt!'. I was able to calm her down a bit by looking at picture of the boys on my phone and singing `Happy Birthday' in her ear.
After waiting in a room in the ER and seeing several nurses, we saw the doctor and he checked her over. He said it sounded like stridor breathing and recommended a chest xray to rule out anything lodged in her respiratory system. I agreed even though I hate the idea of radiating my baby girl.
If you know what a chest xray is like for them, you know it's not fun. They sit into a type of bike seat, you hold their arms straight above their head and then they wrap a clear encasement around their torso. Nya kept saying `I stuck!'. We counted to 10 and then they did it one more time. Poor girl. I thought she did so well. I just kept saying that it was a silly machine in hopes that she wouldn't be traumatized.
Then we went back to the ER and the results showed no foreign objects (phew!) and that it was likely a viral infection. He did a throat swab and then she was given two different meds to open up her airways and alleviate the pain and we were allowed to leave. The doctor was very nice and understanding. I don't know why I have such a fear of wasting people's time or overreacting but I do.
Fortunately my friend Leah has a fun social life and was out late and could stop by our house to pick up our car (with carseat) to come get us. So frustrating that my phone and internet did not work in the ER. Thanks, Leah!
Never thought my first ambulance visit would be with Nya. Thankfully she's okay and it wasn't too serious. I wasn't too worried once the ambulance came because we were in safe hands and she never turned blue. Last night we slept with the monitor in our bedroom just in case.
PS: I had a package of mini bubbles in my purse. Totally recommend it. What else can you do for hours in the ER in the middle of the night?
PS again: Gary does the wedding receptions on his own and usually isn't home until at least 10 pm but Saturday it finished earlier so he was actually home when it happened. So glad.
{Here she is at the end of our stay; happy Nya with the Telus bear she got in the ambulance. The rest of the time there was not so happy, although, she was singing `Dora' on the way home at 1am.}
Hope your weekend was a healthier adrenaline filled one!
Love, Louise